Workshops

Dynamic Characters and Convincing DialogueBlock A - Saturday and Sunday

​In this workshop, we’ll focus on two essential parts of storytelling: creating dynamic characters, and writing convincing dialogue. Using a variety of examples, we’ll discuss techniques to people your story with characters that readers care about, and how to write dialogue that reveals character while moving your story forward.

​Led by Sam Wiebe.

Narrative in Poetry - Narrative in LifeBlock A - Saturday and Sunday

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect”—Anais Nin

​In this workshop, we are going to take small moments from your experience and turn them into prose poems or flash fiction:

Prose poem, a work in prose that has some of the technical or literary qualities of a poem (such as regular rhythm, definitely patterned structure, or emotional or imaginative heightening) but that is set on a page as prose.

Flash fiction also micro-fiction, a style of literature in which stories are extremely short and often are written between 300-1000 words.

When working with such condensed genres, we’ll see how important concrete image is versus abstract ideas. This will be a hands-on workshop, with instruction, examples, and writing prompts that will help you work through the process. The goal at the end is to have a proto poem or a piece of proto flash fiction for you to play around with on your own.

​Led by Kerry Gilbert

First Line to Last ChordBlock B - Saturday and Sunday

​​Using both performance and discussion, Tariq takes us on a journey through songs from his fourth coming album, Telegrams. Participants will also have a chance to put their lyrical skills to the test through collaboration.Led by Tariq Hussain

Adventures in SyntaxBlock B - Saturday

Dangling modifiers, passive voice, common pronoun mix-ups, parallel structure, and more, including some amazing adjective magic. Whether you're interested in English grammar for the fun of it or because you want your editor to experience less frustration, join us for Adventures in Syntax. We might even address the apparent death of subjunctive mood.

Led by JP Baker

Grammar for ClarityBlock B - Sunday

In this workshop we will share and discuss strategies for expressing ourselves clearly and concisely, making effective and consistently correct use of English grammar. Web-based resource including websites and free open textbooks will be shared so that participants may continue to improve after the session is over. Dr. Matthew Stranach has 7 years’ experience teaching English and technical communications at the post-secondary level.

Led by Matthew Stranach

​Narrative Structure: The Bones of a Great StoryBlock C - Saturday and Sunday

You can’t just come out and say what you have to say. That’s what people do on airplanes, when a man plops down next to you in the aisle seat of your flight to New York, spills peanuts all over the place […], and tells you about what his boss did to him the day before. You know how your eyes glaze over when you hear a story like that? That’s because of the way he’s telling his story. You need a good way to tell your story. ― Adair Lara, Naked, Drunk and Writing

Storytelling is a universal and in many ways intuitive art form. However, good storytelling is not only about having something interesting to say. Rather, what often separates a mediocre story from a great story is how that story is told. This workshop will examine various frameworks for thinking about and employing narrative structure, and will include writing exercises that will help you develop and refine your own stories.

Led by Corinna Chong

Crowdfunding your Creative WorkBlock C - Saturday

Whether you're a writer, artist, musician, or inventor, getting your project off the ground can be difficult. Luckily, crowdfunding websites, like Kickstarter, can help generate interest and investment in your ideas. But there's a lot of work that needs to be done before you're ready to present your product to the world. In this workshop, you will learn what Kickstarter is, how to set-up a crowdfunding campaign, and what you can do to increase the success of your campaign.

​Led by Dennis Staginnus

Stories from Self-Publishing (panel discussion)Block C - Sunday

There is a lot of information out there about self-publishing, but how good is it? Join a panel of self-publishers moderated by Dennis Staginnus as they discuss their experiences with online publishing, marketing methods, cover designs, book formatting, and the many other components that go into a self-published book. This is an open forum to ask anything about the self-publishing process, the work involved, perks and drawbacks, and most important of all, advice on how to increase your chances of success.